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AN 



ADDRESS 



DELIVERED BEFORE THE 



FHILOMATHEAN SOCIETY 



OF THE 



UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



-*•■ 



BY GEORGE B. WOOD, Xtt.D. 

HONORARY MEMBER OF THE SOCIETY. 




July 26, 1826. 




PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF THE SOCIETY- 
R. Wright, Printer. 



1826. 



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ADDRESS. 



In most of the colleges of the United States, so- 
cieties have been formed by the students, which, in 
some instances, have existed for many years, and 
have exerted a very favourable influence over the for- 
tunes of the respective establishments with which 
they have been connected. Of their beneficial ef- 
fects, when properly regulated, we have satisfactory 
evidence in the encouragement which they receive 
from the college officers, who are best qualified to 
form a correct judgment of their tendency and ope- 
ration. Nor is it difficult to discover in what their 
usefulness consists. By fostering a spirit of honora- 
ble emulation, they support and invigorate those ex- 
ertions in the acquisition of knowledge, which, if 
not properly encouraged, are too apt to yield to the 
seduction of youthful pleasures, or to languish under 
the influence of an indolent disposition. They pro- 
duce a union of feeling and sentiment, which amal- 
gamates their members into one body; which teaches 
each individual to connect his own honour with that 
of his community; and excites him to such circum- 
spection of conduct, and diligence in study, as may 
serve to maintain if not to exalt its reputation. By 
the independent exercise of thought, and the frequent 
trials of intellectual attainment and ability, for which 
they afford occasion, they tend to produce a certain 
strength and manliness of thinking; while they pre- 
vent that overweening opinion of one's own superi- 
ority, and that consequent arrogance of manner, which 
are the natural results of solitary study, and which 
have not unfrequently subjected the young collegian, 
©n his first entrance into the world, to ridicule or dis- 



4 

like. The frequent and intimate association, and the 
Community of feeling to which they give rise, lead 
to the formation of sincere friendships, which, origi- 
nating while the heart is glowing with generous emo- 
tion, and not yet palsied by the benumbning influence 
of the world, often continue through life, shedding 
an uniform lustre over its chequered course, and 
sometimes brightening even the gloom of its close. 

Thus useful in promoting the improvement, in 
forming the character, in contributing to the lasting 
happiness of their youthful members, these college 
associations deserve the attention of all who feel in- 
terested in the general subject of education, and more 
particularly of the relatives and friends of the young 
men who are exposed to their operation. It cannot, 
therefore, be deemed presumption, if they occasionally 
appear before the public, and claim that notice and 
sympathy, which, to the generous spirit of youth, are 
the strongest incitements to exertion, and the sweet- 
est reward of success. By thus acting, they place 
themselves, in some measure, under the guardi- 
anship of public opinion, and give a pledge that, 
their conduct shall be regulated by such rules, and 
their efforts directed to such ends, as may challenge 
general approbation. An enlightened community 
will therefore meet their advances with indulgence^ 
and accordingly we find, that on occasion of their 
anniversary exhibitions and orations, they are gene- 
rally favoured with the attendance of a numerous and 
respectable audience, disposed to receive pleasure, and 
to judge favourably of the efforts made to please them. 

The Philomathean Society, by whose invitation 
we are now met together, was founded by the stu- 
dents in the collegiate department of the Pennsylva- 
nia University, soon after the election of the present 
Provost. A duration of more than twelve years 
indicates that it was established; and has been con- 



ducted, upon correct principles; for institutions ol 
this nature, when badly organized, seldom outlive 
the first warmth of zeal which created them; and 
when directed to improper ends, or productive, by 
mismanagement, of injurious consequences, are liable 
to be suppressed by the college authorities. Since 
the period of its origin, the society has, on several 
occasions, presented itself to the public notice of its 
friends. Generally, its exhibitions have consisted of 
essays in oratory by its junior members; but in the 
past year it was determined that the anniversary 
should be celebrated by the delivery of an address, 
by some individual to be appointed for the purpose; 
and the same plan has been adopted for the present 
occasion. I need not mention that to professor Keat- 
ing belongs the honour of having first united the suf- 
frages of the society in his favour; an honour due as 
well to his literary and scientific attainments, as to the 
public spirit which he has exhibited in the promotion 
of objects of general utility. For my own election 
to the same office, I am indebted, perhaps, to that 
partiality with which the individuals of any associa- 
tion regard those, who were among its earliest mem- 
bers, and most zealous supporters. 

As the subject of this anniversary address, I know 
of nothing which has stronger claims on the notice 
of the speaker, or can more appropriately engage the 
attention of the audience, than the affairs of the col- 
lege, under the auspices of which the society, whose 
origin we commemorate, was instituted, and by the 
favour of which it continues to be fostered and sup- 
ported. A short history of this seminary, with an 
account of its present condition and prospects, cannot 
be unacceptable to those who, as citizens of Phila- 
delphia, must feel a deep interest in whatever affects^ 
even in a remote degree, it* welfare and reputation. 

The University of Pennsylvania embraces three 



6 

distinct departments; those of Medicine, of Natural 
Science, and the Arts.* It is the last of these to 
which I wish particularly to direct your attention. 
The medical department has attained a celebrity, not 
only in this place, but throughout the United States, 
and even beyond the Atlantic, which supersedes the 
necessity of description, and renders eulogy super- 
fluous. The department of natural science, though 
embracing several professorships, the duties of which 
have, in some instances, been performed with much 
credit to their occupants, is yet so imperfectly or- 
ganized, and has been managed with so little system, 
as to present no appearance of a regular association. f 
To the college, therefore, as distinct from the facul- 
ties of medicine and natural science, the observations 
which follow will be confined. J To express a hope 
that they may be the means of directing more atten- 

* By the regulations of the university there are two other 
departments, namely, those of Law and of General Litera- 
ture : — but at present they are merely nominal. The professor- 
ship of law is vacant, and that of general literature, though 
occupied by a gentleman who has given abundant proof of 
his qualifications for the office, does not afford sufficient in- 
ducement to divert any portion of his attention from more 
pleasant or profitable occupation. 

t In the department of natural science five professorships 
were instituted, namely, 1st, of Natural Philosophy; 2d, of 
Botany; 3d, of Natural History, including Geology and 
Zoology; 4th, of Mineralogy and Chemistry, as applied to the 
arts; 5th, of Comparative Anatomy. On the subjects of 
natural philosophy, botany, and chemistry applied to the 
arts, several courses of lectures have been given, which have 
attracted much attention. The other subjects have been en- 
tirely neglected, at least for many years. 

% It may be proper to mention that in the department of 
of the arts, — beside the college, there are included an academy 
or grammar school, and charity schools in which the children 
of the poor, both boys and girls, receive gratuitous instruc- 
tion. But it is to the college alone that attention is now in- 
vited. 



tion to this important institution, and of exciting a 
greater interest in its prosperity, might subject me 
to the imputation of vanity. The spirit of good will, 
however, in which they are made, and which must 
find an answering feeling in the breast of every one 
present, will secure them a kind, perhaps a partial 
reception. 

Our college can boast of no great antiquity. Set- 
tled, originally, by members of the religious society 
of Friends, Philadelphia, and the colony of which it 
was the capital, remained, for many years, under their 
exclusive direction.} Averse, by principle, from all 
titles of honour; attaching little importance to those 
higher studies, which in their estimation, were rather 
ornamental than useful; and accustomed to view the 
colleges of Europe as ecclesiastical establishments, 
which, in whatever shape, were in direct opposition 
to their religious views, they were content with in- 
structing their youth in seminaries less ambitious in 
their designation, and less complex in their organi- 
zation and government. Sensible, however, of the 
great importance of an elementary education, they 
directed their attention to the subject very speedily 
after their first arrival in this country; and, by the 
the year 1712, a system had been matured and 
adopted, which has continued in uninterrupted ope- 
ration down to the present time, and has been found 
to answer satisfactorily its intended purposes. Funds, 
supplied by the society out of its public property, 
were vested in a body of trustees, incorporated by a 
charter* from William Penn; and to this body, which, 

* A charter was granted by William Penn so early as the 
year 1693; but it was found advisable to alter some of its pro- 
visions, and it was not till near the close of the year 1711, 
that the act of incorporation was obtained, by which the 
school was permanently organized. ! he charter of 1693 is the 
first which was given in this state for literary purposes. 



by the right of supplying vacancies, was rendered 
perpetual, the establishment and direction of the ne- 
cessary schools were entrusted. These schools, in 
which were taught the Latin language, the inferior 
branches of mathematics, and the rudiments of En- 
glish literature, though under the sole management 
of Friends, were open to the youth of all sects; and, 
till the middle of the century, continued to be the only 
public places of instruction within the city. But the 
rapid increase of the colony in population and wealth, 
and the consequent demand for well educated men to 
fill the learned professions, and the various offices of 
state, led necessarily to the adoption of a more ex- 
tended and liberal system of instruction, suited to 
the wants of a numerous and mixed people. 

The subject had frequently engaged the attention 
of a few individuals, among whom our great Frank- 
lin, ever prominent in works of public usefulness, 
was one of the most conspicuous. Their sentiments 
having been communicated to several others, excited 
considerable interest; and the plan of an academy 
was at length drawn up by Franklin, and submitted 
to the approval of those who appeared to be concern- 
ed for the success of the project.* Twenty-four of 
the most respectable and influential citizens, without 
regard to difference of religious opinion, or of profes- 
sional pursuit, associated themselves together under 

* Among the names of these original trustees will be found 
many which are stil well known and highly respected in Phila- 
delphia. They were James Logan, Thomas Lawrence, William 
Allen, John Inglis, Tench Francis, William Masters, Lloyd 
Zachary, Samuel M'Call jun., Joseph Turner, Benjamin 
Franklm, Thomas Leech, William Shippen, Robert Strettell, 
Philip Syng, Charles Willing, Phineas Bond, Richard Peters, 
Abraham Taylor, Thomas Bond, Thomas Hopkinson, Wil- 
liam Plumsted, Joshua Maddox, Thomas White, and Wit- 
Ham Coleman. Benjamin Franklin was the first president 
of the board. 



9 

the title of " Trustees of the Academy of Philadel- 
phia." The scheme was now laid before the public, 
gny>^ and its patronage requested. Such was the spirit of 
the people, and so obvious the promised advantages, 
that an adequate sum was speedily subscribed; and, 
in the commencement of the year 1750, the academy 
went into operation.* Three schools, one for the 
Latin, one for the mathematics, and one for the En- 
glish tongue, were immediately opened; two charity 
schools were soon added; and so flourishing was the 
condition of the institution, and so fair its prospects 
of permanent success, that the trustees determined 
to apply for a charter of incorporation, which, in the 
year 1753, they obtained from the proprietary go- 
vernment. The prosperity which continued to at- 
tend the undertaking, soon induced them to expand 
their views beyond the limits of a simple academy. 
In the year 1755 the charter, at. their request, was 
so altered, as to confer upon them the right of grant- 
ing degrees, of appointing professors, and of assum- 
ing, in all other respects, the character of a collegi- 
ate body. They now took the title of " Trustees of 

* The building occupied by the school was that at present 
known by the name of the academy, situated in Fourth, be- 
tween Arch and Market streets. It was originally erected 
under the direction of the celebrated Whitfield and others, 
as a place for the gratuitous instruction of the poor, and for 
public worship; and was purchased by the trustees, subject 
to the condition that a charity school should be maintained in 
it, and that any protestant minister of the Gospel, without 
regard to sect, who might be willing to sign certain funda- 
mental articles of faith, and in other respects might be judged 
qualified, should be allowed to preach, on all proper occasions, 
either in the house itself, or in some place on the premises, 
which might thereafter be set apart for the purpose: an it 
was especially stipulated, that the " free and uninterrupted 
use of the said place of worship should be permitted to the 
Rev. Mr. George Whitfield, whenever he might happen to be 
in the city, and desire to preach therein.'* 

B 



10 

the College, Academy, and Charity School of Phi- 
ladelphia/' Reserving to themselves the rights of 
making laws, of bestowing both the ordinary and 
honorary degrees, and of exercising a general super- 
intendence over the affairs of the institution, they 
transferred its immediate government, with all the 
necessary powers for maintaining order and promoting 
industry among the students, to a faculty composed 
of the professors, of whom the principal was denomi* 
nated provost, and the second in authority vice- 
provost. The choice of the professors seems to have 
been made with impartiality and judgment. The 
Rev. Dr. William Smith, the first provost, was a man 
of distinguished abilities, and of no mean reputation 
as a writer. The degree of doctor in divinity, con- 
ferred upon him by the university of Oxford, and 
subsequently by the learned faculties of Aberdeen and 
Dublin, evinces the esteem in which his station., 
talents and exertions were held in Europe. The 
vice- provost, the Rev. Dr. Alison, had long been fa- 
vourably known in the province, as a private teacher. 
Mr. Kinnersley, professor of English and oratory, 
was the associate of Franklin in his investigations into 
the subject of electricity; and the merit of several 
discoveries in this science is claimed for him by his 
cotemporaries. The professor of languages was re- 
puted to be inferior, as a classical scholar, to none on 
the continent. In the Magazines of the time, we are 
presented with some of his compositions in Latin., 
which indicate a cultivated taste, and an accurate ac- 
quaintance with that language. 

Under such officers, with the zealous co-operation 
of the most influential men in the colony, and in the 
midst of an increasing population, eager after im- 
provement, the college could not but partake of that 
impulse, which, with irrisistible force, was bearing 
forward the whole country in the career of national 



11 

prosperity. Its halls soon became crowded with stu- 
dents, and numerous individuals received its honours, 
who, by the political, literary, or professional distinc- 
tion they afterward attained, gave testimony of its 
practical advantages. A few years after the first or- 
ganization of the college, the number of scholars at 
one time under instruction, was not less than one hun- 
dred; and, if we include the academy and charity 
schools, more than three hundred were partaking of 
the benefits of the institution. When, we consider 
that the amount of the population, from among which 
these numbers were drawn, was less than one-third 
of that at present contained within the same limits, 
we shall have reason to judge favourably, both of the 
merits of a school which attracted so much patron- 
age, and of the spirit of the colonists, who showed 
themselves so well aware of the importance of edu- 
cation, aud so ready to avail themselves of the offer- 
ed advantages* Such, indeed, was the confidence 
inspired by the regulations and management of the 
college, that a gentleman of considerable celebrity, 
born and educated in England, declared, in a letter 
to a friend, that, for the primary education of his own 
children, he should prefer the school of Philadel- 
phia, not only to any other in the provinces, but 
even to his favourite Oxford. 

The pecuniary resources upon which the trustees 
relied, were wholly independent of legislative as- 
sistance. To the private contributions of the citi- 
zens, by which they had originally been enabled to 
commence their operations, were subsequently added 
grants of land and money by the proprietaries, and 
subscriptions to a considerable amount, obtained by the 
personal application of the provost, from the-, friend* 
of learning in England.* The funds derived from 

* The private contributions within the province amounted, 
during the first twelve years, to seven thousand pounds ster 



12 

these sources, united with the proceeds of the school 
itself, were sufficient to maintain it in a prosperous 

ling, of which two thousand were subscribed by the twenty- 
four gentlemen who formed the original board of trustees. 
Considerable sums were also raised by means of lotteries, 
charity sermons, and collections at the commencements and 
other public exhibitions of the college. Three thousand 
pounds were granted by the proprietaries, Thomas and Richard 
Penn, who also conveyed to the trustees a portion of their 
manor of Perkasie, containing between two and three thou- 
sand acres of land, to be held forever for the benefit of the 
institution. 

In the year 1761, the trustees, finding that the income of 
the college was insufficient to defray the necessary expenses, 
and having exhausted the sources from which money could be 
obtained in the province, determined to make application to the 
mother country for assistance. With this view they proposed 
to the provost, Dr. Smith, to take a voyage to England, where 
his personal endeavours might be useful in promoting their 
design. He cheerfully acquiesced, and being provided with 
the proper credentials, left his family and embarked for Eu- 
rope. After his arrival, finding that a gentleman had been 
sent on a similar errand, by the college of New York, he 
thought it advisable that they should pursue their object in 
connexion, and divide equally the proceeds of their joint ap- 
plication. Many very influential individuals became inter- 
ested for their success; and in the course of two or three 
years a collection had been made in Great Britain and Ire- 
land, of which the share that fell to the college of Philadel- 
phia was more than six thousand pounds sterling. This bene- 
faction having been conferred with the understanding that it 
should form a permanent fund, the money was invested by 
the trustees in the best securities, and the interest applied 
to the purposes of the institution. To the exertions of Dr. 
Smith this favourable issue of their project was mainly at- 
tributable, and their sense of his merits on the occasion is 
very strongly expressed, in several places, on the minutes of 
the board . In the account of his reception on his return 
from abroad, it is stated, that "the president, in the name 
and by the order of the trustees, delivered him their unani- 
mous thanks, in the warmest and most affectionate manner, 
for the great zeal, diligence, ability and address which he had 
shown in the management of this collection, for which all the 
friends of this institution, as well as of learning in general,, 



13 

state, till the breaking out of the revolutionary con- 
test. The storm which swept away so many politi- 
cal institutions, and changed, in some measure, the 
face of civil society, could not be expected to leave 
untouched an establishment, the influence of which, 
if improperly exerted, might bear so strongly upon 
the welfare of the country. A provision of the char- 
ter demanded from the officers of the college, before 
entering upon their duties, an oath of allegiance to 
the king of Great Britain; and it was suspected that 
the inclinations of some of the most influential among 
them, were but too well in accordance with the ob- 
ligation of their oath. It was alleged, moreover, 
that by consulting the interests of a particular sect, 
the trustees had deviated from the declared intention 

were under the greatest obligations to him." Not content 
with thanks alone, they voted him an annual allowance of one 
hundred pounds, expressly as a consideration for his services 
in England, and independent of his salary as provost. 

About ten years after this splendid contribution from En- 
gland, it was thought advisable to make further efforts at 
home. A subscription was set on foot in Pennsylvania, which 
was attended with some success; and in the province of 
South Carolina, whither Dr. Smith was sent by the board, 
more than one thousand pounds sterling were collected. The 
West Indies also contributed. 

But the finances, which by these various means had been 
brought into a flourishing condition, were thrown into disor- 
der by the troubles of the revolution. The bonds and mort- 
gages held by the trustees, were, in many instances, redeem- 
ed in the depreciated currency of the times; the receipts 
from tuition fell off with the number of students; and while 
the former resources were thus diminished, the increased 
prices of the necessaries of life called for increased expendi- 
ture. The funds of the college thus became inadequate to 
its proper support; and this circumstance was urged, among 
others, as a reason for the interference of the legislature In 
its affairs. It was undoubtedly an excellent reason for ex- 
tending assistance; but certainly afforded no excuse for the 
course which was adopted, of entirely subverting the insti- 
tution. 



14 

of the founders, who had been actuated by the most 
catholic spirit, as regarded religious opinion.* Ac- 
cordingly, in the year 1779, it was recommended, by 
the executive council, that the affairs of the college 
should be made the subject of examination by the 
legislature; that whatever, in its charter or manage- 
ment, should be found incompatible with the new 
order of things, should be abrogated; and the whole 
remodelled, so as at once to preserve the original ob- 
jects of the founders, and religiously to guard the 
best interests of the community. The sentiments of 
the assembly were in perfect agreement with those 
of the council; and a law was enacted, by which it 
was hoped they might attain the end proposed. The 
oath of allegiance, in the former charter, was trans- 
ferred to the commonwealth; all the offices of the in- 
stitution were declared vacant;/ a new board of trus- 
tees was appointed; and the old appellation of Col- 
lege, Academy, and Charity school of Philadelphia, 
was exchanged for the more highly sounding title of 
University of Pennsylvania. To show that they were 
actuated by no hostility to knowledge itself, they not 
only vested in the new trustees the property of which 
the college was before possessed, but granted to the 
university a very considerable endowment out of the 

* This accusation of partiality seems to have been wholly 
destitute of foundation, Among the officers of the college 
were men of several different religious denominations, and 
students were admitted indiscriminately without regard to 
the peculiarity of their tenets. When the collections were 
made in Great Britain, it was expressly stated, in order 
that none might give under false impressions, that the estab- 
lishment was on the most liberal foundation, open alike to 
persons of every sect; and a declaration to this effect, drawn 
up and inserted in the minute book of the trustees, was 
signed by all the gentlemen then members of the board, and 
subsequently, by all who became members, until the board 
itself was dissolved by the abrogation of the charter under 
which it acted. 






15 

forfeited estates.* However arbitrary the proceeding 
might be considered, it accorded with the predomi- 
nant feeling of the times; and the party who felt 
themselves aggrieved, having used expostulation in 
vain, were compelled to yield for the present, and ap- 
peal for redress to a period of less political excite- 
ment. The new trustees proceeded immediately to 
the organization of the institution. The Rev. Dr. 
John Ewing, a member of the board, was appointed 
to the provostship, and carried into that office a cha- 
racter of great moral excellence, united with exten- 
sive acquirements, and indefatigable industry. At 
the same time, the celebrated Rittenhouse was chosen 
vice-provost and professor of astronomy. 

But the success of the university did not corres- 
pond with the lofty pretensions of its title. Whether 
the unsettled condition of the country, consequent 
upon a long war, was unfavourable to the cultivation 
of learning: whether the dissatisfaction with which 
many respectable citizens regarded the late measure 
of the legislature, had turned the current of patron- 
age towards the neighbouring colleges; or whatever 
other cause may have operated, certain it is, that the 
new school was seldom crowded with students, and 
its commencements seldom graced with a numerous 
band of graduates. 

It cou^d not be expected that the trustees and fa- 
culty of the old college, should acquiesce quietly in 
what they conceived to be an arbitrary violation of 
their rights. To take away their charter, without 
the formality of a trial, without even the allegation 
of an unlawful act, was a proceeding which could be 
justified only upon the plea of necessity; but, at the 
same time, to deprive them of property, entrusted, 

* The real estate conveyed to the university, in conse- 
quence of this grant, amounted to the yearly value of nearly 
Qne thousand, four hundred pounds, Pennsylvania currency. 



16 

with the fall confidence of its former possessors, 16 
their management, and partly acquired by their own 
individual exertions; upon which, moreover, some of 
their number were depending for an authorised sub- 
sistence, was, in their opinion, a stretch of power 
more becoming an Eastern despot, than the support- 
ers of a free government. In a clause of the consti- 
tution under which the commonwealth was then go- 
verned, it was declared, that individuals associated 
for the promotion of learning, or for religious and 
charitable purposes, should be left in the undisturbed 
enjoyment of their former privileges; and the treat- 
ment, therefore, which they had received, could be 
reconciled as little with positive law as with natural 
justice. Many respectable citizens shared in their 
sentiments and feelings; memorials, representing their 
case, were, on several occasions, presented to the le- 
gislature; and the tumult of party spirit having at 
length sufficiently subsided to allow the voice of jus- 
tice to be heard, in the year 1789, a law was enacted, 
declaring the abrogation of their charter an uncon- 
stitutional act, and restoring to them the possession 
of their estates, and the full exercise of their former 
privileges. 

The new school, however, retained its charter, 
and the property with which the legislature had en- 
dowed it. There were now, therefore, in Philadel- 
phia, two distinct establishments, each having its own 
board of trustees, and its own faculty. The college 
and academy were revived under the superintend- 
ence of their former provost; and the university con- 
tinued in operation, with no other change than such 
as necessarily resulted from the late decision. 

But neither party had reason to be satisfied with 
this arrangement. The funds, which had barely suf- 
ficed for the purposes of a single school, when di- 
vided between two ; were found wholly inadequate td 



17 

their proper support; and distinguished talent was 
neither so abundant, nor so easily commanded, that 
in the same city a double faculty of professors could 
be created, each composed of men eminent in their 
respective branches, and calculated to exalt the re- 
putation of the school to which they might belong. 
In the art of teaching, undue opposition, by dimin- 
ishing the reward of labour, necessarily deteriorates 
the quality of instruction; for the talents requisite 
to great success in this art, being in their nature readi- 
ly transferrible, will be prevented from forsaking it, 
only by the combined influence of attachment for its 
duties, and the prospect of a competent recompense. 
To the common elementary schools this remark is less 
applicable. As in these the requisite knowledge is 
of easy acquisition, and the route to be pursued al- 
ready laid down with accuracy, competent teachers 
are readily obtained; and the advantages resulting to 
the community from a wide diffusion, of elementary 
instruction, more than counterbalance the evil of its 
superficial character. But the multiplication of col- 
leges, beyond the extent necessary for the comforta- 
ble accommodation of those students who seek a libe- 
ral education, is an evil of a most serious nature. 
Even should the same eminent ability be secured in 
their service, it would operate feebly, from its want 
of concentration. But mediocrity, both of attain- 
ment and character, would necessarily be elevated 
into stations which could lead only to mediocrity of 
reward; and seminaries, which should be the nurse- 
ries of extensive and accurate knowledge, of good 
feeling, of correct and exalted sentiment, would send 
forth their graduates superficially instructed, and 
vain of the semblance, without the substance of learn- 
ing. The numbers of these pretendws would not 
compensate for their deficiences; for, in the scale of 
public benefit and national honour, one who has drunk 
c 



(deeply at the fountain of knowledge will outweigh a 
hundred who have only tasted. It may, indeed, 
be said, that in an equal competition, however nu- 
merous may be the competitors, the most deserv- 
ing will succeed, and thus merit be assured of a suf- 
ficient reward. But in the strife of numerous pub- 
lic seminaries, especially in a country like ours, di- 
vided into sections, governed by their own laws, 
jealous of their comparative standing, and subject to 
frequent and powerful party excitement, such equality 
of competition is unattainable. Almost every school, 
however imperfectly managed, will find some sup- 
port in the prejudices of private friendship, of local 
attachment, or of party feeling; and though the most 
deserving may, in the end, obtain the greatest share 
of patronage, yet the whole stock may be subjected 
to such minute division, as to render any one portion 
utterly valueless to those who are able to draw, from 
other sources, a better subsistence. It is bad policy, 
therefore, to multiply colleges beyond the demand of 
the population; at least without at the same time en- 
dowing them so largely, as, in this way, to offer a pre- 
mium for the high qualifications which should cha- 
racterise their officers. Two institutions of this na- 
ture, in the same place, depending mainly on popu- 
lar support, can never flourish: either the one will 
sink into comparative insignificance, while the other 
shall maintain a respectable standing; or both will 
fall into decay, and some distant establishment reap 
the harvest of their dissentions. 

From the experience or anticipation of such a re- 
sult, the schools of Philadelphia had been but a short 
time in separate operation, when the wish was ex- 
pressed, by both parties, of increasing their strength 
by a union of interests. Accordingly, in the year 
1791, the university and college, in a joint petition 
to the legislature, requested such alterations in the 



19 

acts of incorporation as might be necessary for this 
purpose. A design so obviously beneficial, could not 
fail to meet with approval; and the necessary enact- 
ments having been obtained, a union on just and sat- 
isfactory terms was effected. An equal number of 
trustees from each institution, formed a new board, 
of which the governor of the state was ex officio 
president; and which, by the unrestricted right of 
supplying vacancies, was rendered independent of any 
other controul, than such as resulted from its obligation 
to consult the best interest of the seminary entrusted 
to its charge. In the arrangement of the professor- 
ships, the same regard was paid to the claims of the 
respective parties; and the new faculties in the arts 
and in medicine, possessed the united strength of 
those from which they were formed. The more 
comprehensive title of University of Pennsylvania 
absorbed, of course, that of the College and Academy^ 
which, after an interrupted duration of nearly for- 
ty years, with a fame which the success of numerous 
graduates had spread over the continent, was now 
finally extinguished. 

Soon after the union of the schools, the edifice 
in which we are now assembled, erected by the state 
of Pennsylvania as a residence for the president 
of the United States, but declined on constitutional 
grounds by Mr. Adams, who then filled the office, 
was purchased by the trustees, and applied to the 
purposes of the university. 

Thus newly organized and located, the institution 
has remained, to the present time, without a rival in 
the city. Dr. Ewing continued to preside over it 
till the period of his death, in 1802, since which time 
his place has been successively occupied by Dr. 
McDowell, the Rev. Dr. Andrews, and the present 
respected provost. It is needless for me to observe^ 
that among their associates in the office of instruction, 



20 

have been men distinguished for their learning and 
science. Of these, Philadelphia, within a few years, 
has experienced the loss of one, whose elevation to 
the presidency of the Philosophical Society, to the 
chair which had been filled by a Franklin, a Ritten- 
house, a Jefferson, and a Wistar, was the merited re- 
ward of his talents, and of a long life devoted to the 
service of his fellow-citizens. 

Though the name of the university has been ren- 
dered illustrious by the splendid success of its medical 
school, yet this very circumstance has perhaps tended, 
in some measure, to obscure the other department; 
the reputation of which has never been commensurate 
with the expectations, which the extent of its re- 
sources, the talent engaged in its service, and the 
growing prosperity and high literary character of 
the city in which it was located, were calculated to 
excite. An amount of students, seldom, if ever, so 
high as one hundred, and frequently less than half 
the number; and an annual list of graduates, varying 
from five to thirty, though surpassing the success of 
many colleges in the Union, are yet so unequal, either 
to the claims of the institution, or to the numbers and 
Wealth of those from whom it has a right to expect 
support, that Philadelphia must submit to the impu- 
tation of unwarrantable apathy in a cause, which is 
intimately connected with her own interest and 
honour. 

The neglect, however, which the school has en- 
countered, is perhaps attributable, in part, to certain 
defects in its own arrangements. The plan which 
was first adopted, and which may have been most ac- 
cordant with the circumstances of the times, was 
not allowed to expand with the growth of the coun- 
try; and became, therefore, disproportionate to the- 
more extensive demands of a later period. 

The admission of only three classes, and the conse? 



&1 

qucnt limitation of the terra of study to the same 
number of years, produced an impression very unfa- 
vourable to the college, which, on this account, was 
thought to afford fewer opportunities for the acqui- 
sition of knowledge, and to place the requisites of 
graduation lower, than other similar establishments. 
Other circumstances contributed to strengthen and 
increase this impression. In the school, as originally 
instituted, the students of the college had never been 
sufficiently distinguished from those of the academy; 
and by a similar error in the arrangements of the uni- 
versity, a grammar school was admitted into the same 
buildings with the collegiate classes. At one period^ 
the lowest of these classes was associated with the 
boys of the grammar school, in the same room and 
under the same teachers; and the confusion thus pro- 
duced, was increased by the early age at which ap- 
plications for admittance into the college were re- 
ceived; so that a distinction not preserved by posi- 
tive regulations, could not be rendered obvious by 
any marked difference in the appearance of the stu- 
dents. This may seem a trivial observation; but it 
is by such apparently trifling circumstances, more 
than by any glaring defects of organization, that the 
prosperity of an institution is affected; and their in- 
jurious operation is often rendered inveterate by our 
aptness, in searching for the source of any evil, either 
to overlook them entirely, or, attributing to them an 
influence corresponding with our notions of their im- 
portance, to neglect their timely removal or correc- 
tion. 

From the causes to which I have alluded, the col- 
legiate department of the university obtained the 
reputation, rather of a primary school, adapted to the 
instruction of children, than of a learned seminary 
where young men might complete a liberal education, 



Its honours thus came to be less highly esteemed thatl 
those of Yak, Harvard, and Nassau; and as the 
warm imagination of youth, ever apt to convert sha- 
dows into substance, is often dazzled more by the 
distinction of a name, than by the merit which would 
deserve it, we have no reason to be surprised, that 
the current of youthful ambition has set strongly in 
the direction of these latter colleges. The preju- 
dices of parents have concurred with the wishes of 
tl dr children; and not only from the country of which 
Philadelphia is the natural metropolis^ but from our 
immediate neighbourhood, from the very centre of 
the city, the sons of many of the most influential in- 
habitants have been sent to distant seminaries, the 
fame of which they have thus contributed to exalt, 
at the expense of the reputation of their native place. 
But the causes which gave rise to this unnatural 
preference, so far as they were connected with the 
internal arrangements of the university, have now 
ceased to exist. The grammar school, which has for 
many years been distinct in its government and con- 
duct from the college, by a recent determination of 
the trustees, has been entirely removed from the 
buildings appropriated to the purposes of the latter. 
The age of admission into the college has been regu- 
lated; so that no student can now enter at a period 
of life, when the mind is not yet sufficiently expand- 
ed for the reception of the higher kinds of know- 
ledge. By the introduction of another class, the 
whole collegiate term has been extended to four years, 
a space of time which, in this country, has been found 
to answer most satisfactorily the opposite demands of 
business and study. With this increase in the num- 
ber of classes, the faculty has been augmented by 
the appointment of a tutor and an additional pro- 
fessor| and an opportunity is thus afforded, both of 



23 

extending the field of instruction, and of cultivating, 
with increased effect, the sciences already taught.* 

In these changes, every improvement has been em- 
braced, which was requisite to the permanent estab- 
lishment of the college on a basis as broad and firm as 
that of any similar institution within the United 
States. Whatever food, therefore, was afforded to 
prejudice by its former regulations, has been entirely 
removed; and if hereafter the smile of popular fa- 
vour shall be wanting, we must look for the cause in 
circumstances wholly extraneous to the college itself, 
and beyond the controul of those who have the di- 
rection of its affairs. 

No impediment to its prosperity is so much to be 
apprehended, as the very general but erroneous opini- 

* The following are extracts from the laws of the Univer- 
sity: 

4< In the collegiate department there shall be four profes- 
sors, viz: A professor of Moral Philosophy — a professor of 
Natural Philosophy and Chemistry — a professor of Languages 
— and a professor of Mathematics. A tutor to assit in the 
instruction of Mathematics and the Languages." 

"The students shall be distributed into four classes, viz: 
the Senior Class, the Junior Class, the Sophomore Class, and 
the Freshman Class." 

"No applicant shall be admitted into the Freshman Class 
under the age of fourteen; any special exception shall be 
decided by the board, upon the application of the professors. 
His fitness must appear on examination, to be conducted by 
and in the presence of a majority of the professors, who 
must concur in opinion that he is qualified in such branches 
of mathematics, and in such Latin and Greek authors, as 
shall be prescribed by this board." 

"The requisites for entering the Freshman Class, shall be 
as follows: — Every applicant shall have read Virgil, Sal lust, 
and the Odes of Horace, in the Latin; the New Testament, 
Lucian's Dialogues, Xenophon's Cyropedia, and the Grseca 
Minora of Dalzel, in the Greek language; and learned quan* 
tity and scanning in each. He shall also have been taught 
Arithmetic, including fractions, and the extraction of roots" 
English Grammar, and the elements of Geography. 



24 

tm, that large cities are unsuitable for the seats of the 
higher- seminaries. The students, it is thought, are^ 
in these situations, more exposed to the seductions of 
pleasure, and therefore less sedulous in the pursuit 
of knowledge, than when, confined within the small 
compass of a country town, frequently under the same 
roof with their instructors, they are either in the way 
of no temptation, or, by the watchfulness of their 
superiors, are restrained from injurious indulgence. 
The opinion, however, will stand the test of neither 
reason nor experience. 

The tenants of a college are generally at an age, 
when the young feeling of independence has not 
learned submission to the necessary restraints of civil 
government; and contempt of merely legal authority 
is considered honorable, as the sign of a bold and 
manly spirit. When collected together in great num- 
bers, and not allowed to mingle in general society, 
they learn to regard the good opinion of their fellow 
students as their great principle of conduct; and the 
sentiments, therefore, which the circumstances of 
their age and situation in life render predominant, 
acquire all the force of positive laws. To evade or 
violate the college regulations, and to deceive or defy 
the teachers whose office it is to enforce them, are acts 
which are often followed rather by the applause than 
the disapprobation of those, whose good opinion they 
most highly value: and thus it happens, that the force 
of temptation, which is wanting nowhere but in a 
desert, and certainly not in the vicinity of our great 
colleges, receives additional strength from those very 
measures which are designed to repress it. That no 
vigilance is sufficient to counteract the operation of 
the irregular propensities of the youthful spirit, thus 
encouraged by a sense of self respect, and the ap- 
plause of associates, is sufficiently evinced by the 
scenes of disorder, which but too frequently disturb 



25 

the tranquility both of the rural colleges themselves, 
and of the neighbouring inhabitants. 

In large cities the students, instead of dwelling un- 
der one roof, are dispersed in separate families, and 
meet together only for a few hours in the day, 
when their regular duties call them into the pre- 
sence of their instructors. While the advantages 
of emulation are thus gained, and sufficient oppor- 
tunities afforded for forming those friendly connexions 
whjch are often the charm of their future life, they 
are prevented from coalescing into a distinct body, 
actuated by feelings and opinions differing from those 
of the community, and often hostile to their own true 
interests. Diffused in the mass of society, they are 
acted upon by the same causes which influence the 
ordinary formation of character, and imperceptibly 
acquire that cast of mind and manner which is best 
adapted to their future comfort and success in active 
life. They share the feelings and opinions of the 
relatives and friends around them; and the fear of 
causing uneasiness to these, or of encountering their 
disapprobation, is a more powerful restraint upon 
their conduct than the most vigilant enforcement of 
regulations which find no support in their principles 
or affections. 

It might easily be shown that, in other points of 
view, a city education possesses advantages peculiar 
to itself; but want of time will not permit me to dwell 
longer on the subject. There is, however, one con- 
sideration which I feel unwilling to omit, the import- 
ance of which must form my excuse for pressing it 
upon your attention. I allude to the influence which 
female society is calculated to exert in forming the 
character of youth. It would be superfluous, before 
an intelligent audience, in a civilized country, either 
to maintain the general fact, that the most important 
consequences have resulted to society from the influ- 



26 

ence of the softer sex, or to explain particularly in 
what respects this influence has proved beneficial. In 
the vast difference between ancient and modern civili- 
zation, we are presented with an illustration, at once, 
of its existence and effects. At present our atten- 
tion is directed to the subject as it bears upon the 
important point of education. 

Young men, about to enter upon their collegiate 
course, are generally at an age when the character, 
though it still submits to the plastic influence of cir- 
cumstances, has begun, however, to acquire a firmer 
consistence; and the impressions which are now made, 
while they are much deeper and more distinct, are 
not less durable than such as are received by the 
firmer substance of manhood. At this age, there- 
fore, it is of the utmost moment that the student 
should be placed in a situation where every favoura- 
ble cause may have an opportunity to operate: that 
while he is storing up knowledge, and strengthening 
his intellectual faculties, his dispositions should not 
be suffered to run waste; his personal habits to grow 
up into confirmed awkwardness, or offensive peculi- 
arity; his taste and predilections to be formed upoa 
false models, and directed to unsuitable objects; that, 
in fine, he should not be allowed to come from col- 
lege a conceited pedant, filled with notions which 
subsequent experience of their incorrectness will 
hardly be able to eradicate, and deformed by man- 
ners which no intercourse with the world will be 
sufficient to smooth down into courtesy, or brighten 
into polish. Though I by no means design to assert 
that these effects are the necessary, or, to their full 
extent, even the very frequent results of the system 
of education in rural colleges, yet such I conceive, in 
a greater or less degree, to be the tendency of seclu- 
sion from female society; particularly from that fa- 
miliar intercourse of domestic life, which; by its 



27 

unremitting operation, imperceptibly, but powerfully 
acts upon the character. A residence with parents 
or friends, during the long period of a collegiate 
course, must, on this account, be exceedingly desira- 
ble; and strong grounds of preference are thus afford- 
ed for city colleges. 

Could that general prejudice which operates so 
much to their disadvantage be overcome, we might 
reasonably hope that our own school would meet with 
a degree of encouragement, which would render it 
in prosperity what it already is in desert, the equal 
of any similar institution on this continent. I have 
before stated, that whatever might have been con- 
ceived defective in its arrangements has been cor- 
rected; and the most fastidious could now discover, 
in this respect, no just ground of disapprobation.* 

* The following is the course of instruction prescribed by 
the laws of the university: 

In the Freshman year, Latin, Cicero's Orations; Odes and 
Satires of Horace. — Greek, E pic tetus; first vol. of the Graeca 
Majora; Greek Exercises. — Roman and Grecian Antiquities; 
Arithmetic reviewed. Algebra, to quadratic equations. Ge- 
ometry, the theorems of Euclid. 

In the Sophomore year, Latin, Cicero, (de officiis et de 
oratore) Terence; Horace's Epistles and Art of Poetry. — 
Greek, first vol. of Graeca Majora completed; Homer's Iliad. 
Latin and Greek exercises. Ancient and Modern History. 
Rhetoric and Criticism. English composition. Elements of 
Algebra and Geometry completed. Problems of Geometry, 
(practically.) Application of Algebra to Geometry. Plain 
Trigonometry. Surveying and Mensuration. Spherical Geome- 
try and Trigonometry. Perspective Geography, including 
the use of the Globes, and the construction of Maps and 
Charts. 

In the Junior year, iMtin, Juvenal and Perseus. — Greek, 
second vol. of Graeca Majora. — Logic. — Grammar. — Moral 
Philosophy.— -Natural Theology. — Composition. — Forensic 
Discussions. — Higher Algebra. — Analytical Geometry, (in- 
cluding conic sections.) — Differential Calculus, (Fluxions.) 
— Natural Philosophy and Chemistry. 

Jn the Senior year. Longinus and former Greek and Latin 



28 

Within its scheme of instruction are included all those 
branches of knowledge which are generally thought 
to be the proper subjects for a collegiate course; and 
if, from the nature of his professional views, from 
peculiarity of taste, or from a general craving after 
knowledge, the student should think it expedient to 
add to his regular duties the pursuit of other stu- 
dies, he will have at his command, within the limits 
of the city, every assistance which can be necessary 
to facilitate his labours, and expedite his progress. 
Philadelphia may indeed claim, among American ci- 
ties, a proud pre-eminence in the cultivation of the 
sciences. In every department of nature, from the 
lowest grade of inanimate matter up to the highest 
perfection of organized existence, she can boast, of 
citizens who have themselves laboured successfully, 
and are willing to promote, by their instructions, the 
efforts of others. Her cabinets enriched with the 
spoils of the mineral, the vegetable, and the animal 
kingdoms; her libraries stored with all the wealth of 
human intellect; her numerous societies, formed to 
promote knowledge by a combination of resources 
beyond the means of individuals; these are advan- 
tages, which, combined with the numerous courses of 
instruction by teachers both public and private, lay 
open the access to the sciences, and render their pur- 
suit a source of pleasure rather than a task. 

But it cannot be expected that strangers should be 
fully sensible of advantages which do not seem to be 
justly appreciated by our own citizens. So long as 
our young men resort to distant seminaries, it will 
naturally be concluded that the means of education at 

authors reviewed or completed.— -Natural and Political 
Law. — Metaphysics. — Compositions and Forensics.- — Inte- 
gral Calculus. — Mathematical course reviewed. — Mathemati- 
cal principles of Natural Philosophy.— Second course of 
Natural Philosophy. — Chemistry. 



29 

liome are deficient; and against the force of example^ 
argument and assertion will be of little avail. If the 
inhabitants of Philadelphia are desirous that their 
college should flourish, they will most effectually con- 
tribute to this result by giving it, what a strict ex- 
amination will satisfy them it deserves, their own 
united support. The patronage of a city containing 
a population so numerous, wealthy, and enlightened 
as ours, if not of itself sufficient for the prosperity 
of this one school, will at least communicate to it such 
an impulse, that in the race of competition, it will be 
left behind bv none even of those which have hith- 
erto scarcely deigned to acknowledge it as a rival. 
Philadelphians have been accused of deficiency in 
public spirit, and it must be acknowledged that they 
have in general been content with accomplishing useful 
enterprises, without trumpeting forth their exertions 
and success to all the world. More given to action 
than to speech, they have done much for which they 
have received no credit; and the reputation of the 
city is therefore below its real desert. But I fear 
that, with regard to the college, we must submit to 
the justice of the accusation, and confess that we 
have accomplished much less than was called for by a 
just sense of the public good and the public honour. 
The opportunity, however, yet remains of reme- 
dying the consequences of former neglect, and of 
exercising, in the support of this institution, the same 
energy which has been displayed in objects of not 
more vital importance. They whom I now address, 
by their presence on this occasion, exhibit an interest 
in the prosperity of the school which needs no ex- 
traneous impulse: — but were my voice capable of be- 
ing extended to the great mass of Philadelphians, I 
would exhort them to put off that apathy with which 
they have so long regarded an institution connected 
most intimately with the reputation of their city. I 



^0 

would cail upon them to examine its regulations, to 
investigate its management, to estimate, with impar- 
tiality, the advantages which it offers; and if, in none 
of these circumstances, it should prove inferior to 
other seminaries, I would confidently refer to their 
own sense of justice its preferable claims to their 
patronage. I would appeal to their public spirit 
and pride as citizens; and pointing to the glory which 
has been thrown around many cities of Europe by 
the celebrity of their colleges, would endeavour to 
rouse that honorable emulation, which, while it scorns 
to detract from the merits of others, can never rest 
under their superiority. Finally, I would say to 
them, your school of medicine has risen to a station 
little inferior to the highest; it has increased your 
prosperity at home; it has exalted your reputation 
abroad; — upon yourselves it depends that your school 
of arts shall attain an equal elevation; that it shall 
equally contribute to your profit and honour; that in 
distant countries and in future ages, it shall, in like 
manner, be cited as the glory not of this city only., 
but of the United States, and of the American con- 
tinent. 



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